# agent-browser vs Browserbase

> Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against agent-browser's 66.6 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. agent-browser leads on security & auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase accepts x402. agent-browser doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-browserbase
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-browserbase.md (~2,450 tokens)
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- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-browserbase.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against agent-browser's 66.6 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. agent-browser leads on security & auth. Both do browser automation. Browserbase accepts x402. agent-browser doesn't.

- agent-browser: grade B, 66.6/100, rank #263 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-browser.json
- Browserbase: grade BB, 76.2/100, rank #36 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.json

## Which one, for what

### agent-browser (B)

Good for: Coding agents with a shell that want short commands and compact snapshots.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 67 against 43

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Runs on your own machine
- Open source

Watch for: The ten most recent CI runs on main, 1 to 8 October 2026, all concluded in failure. In the newest, Windows Rust tests and native end-to-end tests failed

### Browserbase (BB)

Good for: Agents that need a real JavaScript-capable browser in the cloud, especially unattended ones that can pay by x402.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 90 against 48
- Payments & pricing, 90 against 60
- Maintenance & community, 92 against 70
- Transparency & trust, 71 against 61

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | agent-browser | Browserbase | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 48 | 90 | Browserbase +42 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 80 | agent-browser +4 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 75 | agent-browser +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 67 | 43 | agent-browser +24 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 90 | Browserbase +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 92 | Browserbase +22 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 71 | Browserbase +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **66.6 · B** | **76.2 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | agent-browser | Browserbase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Vercel Labs | Browserbase |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.browserbase.com/v1` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| x402 | no | yes |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT (Stagehand) |
| Tools exposed | 158 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-09 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-08-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2024-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 44k stars, 2.1M npm/wk | 25k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.4/5 (8) |

## Verdicts

**agent-browser.** Snapshots with element refs, a 29-tool default MCP profile and opt-in domain allowlists, action policies and content boundary markers suit agent use. The project is at 0.38.2 with no stable release, the ten most recent CI runs on main failed between 1 and 8 October 2026, and every security control is off by default.

**Browserbase.** x402 sessions at x402.browserbase.com with no account, $0.12 an hour, unused minutes refunded. The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as `?browserbaseApiKey=` in the URL.

## Before you call either

### agent-browser

1. Run `agent-browser install` once after `npm install -g agent-browser`. It downloads Chrome for Testing
2. Take a fresh `snapshot -i` after any navigation. Refs survive same-document changes only
3. Pass `--json` for machine-readable results and `--max-output` to cap page text
4. Set `--allowed-domains`, `--action-policy` and `--content-boundaries` for untrusted sites. None is on by default, and the allowlist rejects `--profile`, `--cdp` and `--restore`
5. Start MCP with `agent-browser mcp`, and add profiles such as `--tools core,network` only when needed

### Browserbase

1. Use x402.browserbase.com when you have a wallet and no key. Terminate the session to get unused minutes refunded
2. Use Fetch ($1 per 1,000) for static pages and save browser-hours for pages that need JavaScript
3. Close sessions explicitly. Each session bills at least one minute, and idle ones keep billing
4. Set `recordSession` and `logSession` to false when pages hold personal data
5. On 429, wait `retry-after` seconds before creating another session

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, agent-browser or Browserbase?

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against agent-browser's 66.6 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. agent-browser leads on security & auth.

### Do agent-browser and Browserbase need an API key?

agent-browser needs no key. Browserbase needs an API key. An agent can also pay Browserbase per call over x402, with no account.

### Can an agent call agent-browser and Browserbase without installing anything?

agent-browser runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Browserbase has a hosted endpoint at https://api.browserbase.com/v1.

### Are agent-browser and Browserbase open source?

agent-browser is open source (Apache-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Browserbase.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-browserbase.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-browserbase.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "agent-browser", "b": "browserbase"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare agent-browser browserbase`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-browser.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserbase.json

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- [Browserbase vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-skyvern.md)
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